I N T H E N I G H T K I T C H E N 4.15.2002
Poor Bad Grammar Lately, I have become somewhat appalled at my rustiness in regards to grammar and spelling. Who knows what atrocities I have committed in this very journal (and I'm too afraid to look). When I read back far into the archives I always find errors but I hold myself back from fixing them. Fixing them would create an urgency to fix every error in every entry and so I just don't. I just don't begin that process. When I first started publishing a journal online, I attempted to meticulously craft good narratives from my life. I would proof-read and reword and edit. Then, somewhere along the way I got lazy. These "Night Kitchen" entries only get an editorial glance because there's a submit and check process with Blogger. It's a good thing they are mostly so short or they wouldn't even get that. What I have noticed, though, is that these cursory glances uncover some horrible, horrible deficiencies. Basically, I think that I have become less acquainted over time with the rules of grammar, syntax, spelling, appropriateness and language. I've forgotten how to quote properly and have started inventing my own rules. I hurry -- typing faster than my lazy editor can think. Bad. Bad. Bad. My latest atrocity uncovered is an apparent penchant for typing in phonetics. I can't even imagine what is going on in my brain when I type "neas" for "knees." And, these are the things I catch! What about everything else that slips through? Can "neas" even be considered a typo? In yesterday's entry, I caught (just after publishing) an error where I used the word "pens" when what I meant was "pins." You might think I'm waxing hyperbolic when I say: "The horror." But, I'm not. For someone who takes pride (or did) in her ability to craft sentences which are not only correct but perhaps even compelling this is a sign of doom. A portent of coming stupidity. An omen of sucking malaise. 
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